Ash tray with a large number of cavities for extinguishing cigarettes



E. ITH

Nov. 27, 1956 P. AGHNIDES A LARGE NUMBER OF ASH TRAY W CAVITIES FOR EXTINGUISHING CIGARETTES Filed July 29, 1952 INVENTOR x w////% fi w \W W H j r 1 M W! w w ATToRxExs United States Patent ASH TRAY WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF CAVITIES FOR EXTINGUISHING CIGARETTES Elie P. Aghnides, New York, N. Y.

Application July 29, 1952, Serial No. 301,515

Claims. (Cl. 131-235) This invention relates to ash trays and more particularly to ash trays with cavities designed to extinguish cigarettes.

Ash trays with a plurality of cavities into which a cigarette butt may be placed to extinguish the cigarette are well known. However, one serious difiiculty involved with the prior art devices is the fact that they are very difficult to clean. For example it is well known that an ash tray may be made with a central bowl and a plurality of shallow cylindrical cavities around the central hole. Since these cavities are shallow the smoker will normally hold the cigarette butt at the rear end and press the forward end against the bottom of the cavity. This leaves a deposit of ashes, tar and stain at the bottom of the cavity which is very difiicult to remove. Normally after the smoker has extinguished the cigarette butt as above stated he then removes it and places it in the central bowl of the ash tray. Later he may extinguish other cigarettes in the same hole and in fact it may be that a large number of cigarettes may be extinguished in one hole before the ash tray is cleaned. Hence, any staining of one spot may be repeatedly compounded between cleanings creating a spot very difiicult to clean. Prior art ash trays of the foregoing type may be made in two sections so that each cavity is formed only when the sections are put together.

Prior art ash trays have in many instances been looked upon with disfavor by insurance companies, fire inspectors, and others interested in avoiding fires. An ash tray should preferably be so designed that the smoker cannot use it in any way that will create a fire hazard.

One object of this invention is to overcome the objections to prior art ash trays stated above. My new ash tray can be readily cleaned and cannot be used in such a way as to create a fire hazard. Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as this description proceeds.

Around the central bowl of the ash tray I provide a large number of cavities which are preferably only slightly larger in diameter than a cigarette at their bottom end portions. These cavities are deeper than the usual cigarette butt and hence the smoker cannot crush the end of the cigarette against the bottom of the cavity. All he can do is merely drop the butt into the cavity, and since the amount of air in the cavity is limited the cigarette is rapidly extinguished with a minimum of stain on the bottom of the cavity. He cannot readily remove the butt to place it in the central bowl and therefore he will leave it in the small cavity. Hence, one cavity should be provided for each cigarette to be extinguished and therefore the construction of the apparatus must be such that a large number of cavities exist that can be readily cleaned. To provide the large number of cavities I employ a removable section with indents on both sides thereof which cooperate with the side walls of the chamber (which may have complementary indents) to form the deep cavities referred to above.

2,771,884 Patented Nov. 27, 1956 Further details of the invention will appear in the following description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top view of one form of my invention. Figure 2 is a sectional view ofthe device taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of a modified form of the device of Figure 1.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 the ash tray comprises three superposed trays 10, 11, and 12. Inner tray 10 has indents 13 in its outer wall that cooperate with complementary indents 14 in 'the inner wall of tray 11. Tray 11 also has indents 15 in its outer wall which cooperate with complementary indents 16 in the inner wall of outer tray 12. The indents 14 and 15 are staggered so that the wall of removable tray 11 is of as substantially uniform thickness as possible and is not unduly weakened.

In order to align the indents 15 and 16 of trays 11 and 12, the latter is provided with a ledge 17 at the bottom thereof which has the shape of one of the indents 15. Preferably several ledges such as ledge 17 are located in tray 12.

To maintain trays 10 and 11 in alignment, the tray 11 is provided with a cigarette rest 18 which extends into one of indents 13. Cigarette rest 18 comprises an inward extension of tray 11 at a place where an indent 14 would exist if symmetry were followed, this extension having upstanding side walls 19 on both sides of a groove 20. The means 18 for maintaining the trays 10 and 11 in alignment provides a device which can be very readily and easily molded or formed.

As shown in Figure 3, the bottoms of either of, or both of, trays 10 and 11 may be omitted.

The devices of Figures 1 to 3 have a plurality of vertical cavities 21 which are less than three-quarters of an inch in diameter (and preferably 0.6 inch in diameter) and of sufiicient depth, for example one inch or more (preferably about one and one-half inches), so that the smoker may not press the burning end of the cigarette butt against the bottom of the tray. Hence, the smoker drops the cigarette butt into one of cavities 21 where the cigarette is automatically extinguished. The trays 10, 11 and 12 may be readily disassembled for cleaning purposes. Since the cigarette butts rest in the several holes loosely, and since there is very little tar, stain, etc. on the trays, cleaning is very simple after the trays have been disassembled. If desired, the three trays 10, 11 and 12 may be used as three separate conventional ash trays. Moreover, trays 12 and 11 may be used together without tray 10, but preferably all three trays are employed at once.

The webs between cavities should be as thin as pos sible preferably not greater than one-half inch. The diameters of the cavities as measured in horizontal planes should preferably be no greater than one-half inch and the depth of the cavities should preferably be at least one inch.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my prior copending application Serial No. 183,542, filed September 7, 1950, entitled Ash trays, which was issued on June 14, 1955, as Patent No. 2,710,611.

While there has been described above what are at present believed to be the preferred forms of the invention, other forms will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. All such variations as fall within the true spirit of the invention are intended to be covered by the generic terms of the claims set forth below.

I claim to have invented:

1. An ash tray comprising three endless elements having spaced endless facing walls and the outer one of which has a bottom, the middle endless element having projections on both sides thereof forming indents therebetween and the two walls that face the middle element having indents complementary to the indents between Said P oje t o s, r y ach P i of omp em n a y indents forms a cigarette extingnishing cavity having a cross-section large enough to receive a cigarette and small enough to limit the supply. of air and thereby pi y x in ui hv ci a t an: ap oi o n one of the endless walls which is adapted to fit into. one oi said indents in an adjacent wall only when the last two-menti'oned'walls are aligned so that their complementary indents cooperate to form cigarette-extinguishing cavities,

An sh, y as efin d. n, l 1 in ish n of saidf Walls has a projection which is adapted to fit into one of said indents on the other, said projections being positioned so that said three walls can be placed together only in a way that all. complementary indents cooperate with each other to form. cigarette-extinguishing cavities.

3. An ash tray as defined in claim 1 in which said projection covers a ci garette-extingnishing cavity and has vertical projections on both sides thereof whereby to form a cigarette rest.

4. An ash tray as defined in claim 1 in which at least two of the endless elements have separate bottoms.

5. An ash tray as defined in claim 1 in which all three endless elements have separate bottoms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re 21,30 Harp 369- .9 1,939 813,918 Sehniitz. Feb 27, 1906 1,968,191 Danner July 31, 1934 2,175,956 Crawford Oct. 10, 1939 2,316,831 Aghnides Apr. 20, 1943 2,577,959- Gattuso Dec. 11, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 299,186 Great Britain Oct. 25, 1928 422,431 Great Britain Jan. 11, 1935 444,403 Italy Jan. 2 1, 19 49 617,670 Great Britain. Feb. 9, 19 49 622,506 Great Britain May 3-, 19.49 629,810 Great Britain Sept. 28, 1.949 

